Govt planning to auction marginal oil, gas fields in a month

The oil ministry will hold a meeting next week to finalize a timeline for the auction, after which officials will begin a roadshow, showcasing small discovered fields to potential investors, the official said.Sanjeev Choudhary | ET Bureau | April 24, 2016, 15:34 IST

Last year, the government unveiled a new policy for 69 small discovered fields that had remained undeveloped for years due to their limited reserves, high development cost and technological constraints.NEW DELHI: The government is planning to begin the process to auction marginal oil and gas fields in a month after delaying it for several months due to lower oil prices, an oil ministry official has said.

The oil ministry will hold a meeting next week to finalize a timeline for the auction, after which officials will begin a roadshow, showcasing small discovered fields to potential investors, the official said.

Last year, the government unveiled a new policy for 69 small discovered fields that had remained undeveloped for years due to their limited reserves, high development cost and technological constraints.

All these fields were earlier owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL).

The government will auction 67 fields divided in about 44 clusters, the official said. Two fields in the north-east will not be part of the auction.